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Ryots allege corruption in paddy procurement

BERHAMPUR: Farmers of Ganjam district allege of large scale corruption and irregularities in the paddy procurement process. Members of Rushikulya Rayat Mahasabha (RRM) say the farmers of Ganjam district are not getting the minimum support price fixed by the government. According to them a portion of money meant for the farmers selling their paddy produce is going to the pockets of government officials and rice mill owners. They alleged that the farmers are not getting the bonus money declared by the government over the procurement price of each quintal of paddy.

As per this farmers’ union if the present government procurement price is taken into account then each bag of 75 kilogram of common paddy of farmers would fetch around 560 rupees. The procurement price of paddy is 645 rupees per quintal. With it some bonus is also to be added up.

The members of the union found that at Kantapada village of Beguniapada block of the district the mill owners are purchasing 75 kilogram bags of paddy from farmers at Rs. 420 . Due to their poverty the farmers are compelled to accept this price although they are losing around Rs.100. According to them this money is getting shared by the mill owners and the government officials. This exploitation of farmers of rural areas continues even in the Ganjam district, which proves that it must be a general phenomenon in the State helping in creation of large amount of black money. The RRM activists have demanded the State Government to initiate a proper enquiry to root out the corruption .

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